Heidi K. Abegg is Senior Counsel at Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, LLP.  Her areas of expertise include federal, state and local election law and campaign finance law, federal and state lobbying registration and disclosure, ethics compliance, communication laws, and donor disclosure issues.

Ms. Abegg specializes in the integration of law and public policy, including the opportunities and challenges nonprofit entities face when engaged in government relations, grassroots advocacy, political campaigns, and strategic communications.  Her clients include non-profit organizations, including charities, social welfare organizations, professional societies, trade associations, Section 527 organizations, association political action committees, as well as candidate committees, Presidential campaign committees, independent expenditure committees, donors, lobbyists and consultants, and unregistered political organizations.

In the legislative and political area, she advises clients on creating and structuring appropriate entities for advocacy and political activities, counsels as to potential tax implications, forms and registers non-profits and political entities, provides ongoing guidance and reporting assistance, provides comprehensive review of educational, lobbying and political activities for compliance with campaign finance, lobbying, and gifts and gratuities laws, advises on issues surrounding donor disclosure, disclaimer and sponsor identification requirements, defends against all aspects of Federal Election Commission, IRS enforcement, and state agency investigations, litigates election/campaign finance reform cases, files comments in response to Federal Election Commission rulemakings, conducts audits, and provides advice regarding governance, membership participation, fundraising, advertising, and the impact of communications laws.  She also assists clients with lobbying registration and reporting under the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act, and with state and local authorities across the country.

She has prepared position papers, submitted comments and testified before the Federal Election Commission, filed amicus briefs in various courts, including the US Supreme Court, challenged the constitutionality of campaign finance and election laws and rules, and defended against suits brought by the Federal Election Commission and third parties.

Prior to joining WC&B in 2001, Ms. Abegg practiced civil litigation, with an emphasis on constitutional law in trial and appellate courts across the country.  Ms. Abegg had principal responsibility for litigating First Amendment/election law cases at the agency level, and throughout the state and federal court systems.

She has also authored several publications including:

• Co-Author: The Developing Constitutional Standards for Coordinated Expenditures; Has the Federal Election Commission Finally Found a Way to Regulate Issue Advocacy?, Election Law Journal 209 , 2002.
• Co-Author: Lobbying and Political Expenditures, Tax Management, Inc., 2002.